The first episode of “The Captain,” a seven-part documentary series produced by ESPN, aired on Monday night, and Jonathan Papelbon has already had enough.
Oh yes, the great Jonathan Papelbon. I don’t know what the Phillies ever did to him, other than pay him generously, but the team still lives rent-free in his head years after he played here. I don’t know what the Phillies ever did to him.
“Hey, ESPN! Let me know when you’re ready to produce a documentary on the genuine captain who whipped A Rod’s ass!” Papelbon was the author.
He began by stating that there is no type of leadership present in the locker room for the team. I find it hard to believe that you could make such a claim without actually being there. However, he persisted in his criticism of the company throughout the conversation.
In July of 2004, Varitek established himself as a symbol of the contentious competition between the Yankees and the Red Sox. Varitek started a fight that resulted in the evacuation of the benches after he slammed his catcher’s mitt into Alex Rodriguez’s face after Rodriguez had been hit by a pitch.
Paps, tell us the truth about how you actually feel. It is simple to criticise a franchise that had a slump in popularity after enjoying a prosperous first half of the previous decade. The players on the squad got older, the farm system didn’t produce enough new talent to cover the voids that were left behind, and so on. But to claim that there is a lack of leadership on the club and to criticise the current front office — a front office for which he has never played – is a bit out of the ordinary, even for him.
The former closer went on to play baseball for an additional five years, the last three and a half of which were spent in Philadelphia, where he amassed 123 saves to become the Phillies’ all-time leader in saves. After that, in July of 2015, he was sent to Washington, where he played out his career until the Nationals let him go in August of 2016, at which point he retired.
One more time, this smells like sour grapes. Papelbon was acquired by the Nationals in the summer of 2015, the same year that Bryce Harper won the National League MVP award for the first time. It is beyond my comprehension how one can win Most Valuable Player by universal voting and at the same time be labelled selfish. You should also take into account the fact that they played together when Harper was 22 and 23 years old. That was well over a half-decade ago at this point. If you ask anyone who is beyond the age of 30, they will tell you that the years after that are essentially wasted when it comes to personal and professional development. It’s possible that Harper is a completely different guy now than he was back in 2015.
Indeed, it would appear that this individual possesses the kind of demeanour that is congruent with a healthy lifestyle and good manners. Papelbon comes out as a jilted ex, hence it is advisable to turn elsewhere for in-depth baseball analysis rather than looking to Papelbon.